Nearly Halfway & My Terrible Cold.

11 September 2012No Comment

I know it’s probably not the norm, but I am genuinely looking forward to the films I’ve scheduled in the second half of the festival moreso than the ones I’ve already seen. Also, hopefully my immune system can recover quickly enough for me to actually enjoy the films, instead of staying home instead of going to see them (Sorry Susanne Beir’s Love is all You Need – My health was at stake!)
I’ll do a quick rundown of my festival so far;

Anna Karenina
This film was beautiful and the dialogue was plucky, but the story just didn’t grab me. I believed Keira’s Anna, but the relationship between her and lover Alexei just didn’t seem genuine enough for me.

Perhaps it was the directors intent to not quite have us on Anna’s side, or maybe it’s simply a product of the original story, but I just don’t think of this as Joe Wright’s best work.

Seven Psychopaths
Every single member of the cast was perfect in this dark comedy. It’s got everything you’d expect from In Bruges director Michael McDonagh: Comedy, Guns, Brutality, Sincerity, Hilarity, and a very Irish Colin Ferrell as an alcoholic passifist screenwriter. If you liked Adaptation or Hot Fuzz and would love to see them smashed together, with 100% more Walken, see this movie!

Everybody Has a Plan
Viggo doesn’t disappoint in a moody drama thriller, as a first time feature from the Director, it is impressive. The story, setting, characters and story are all on pointe, but (perhaps it was becuase I was already starting to get ill) I did find it a bit slow. There are scenes in this film that will break your heart wide open, though. In certain situations, I can definitely see myself recommending this movie to others.

Pusher
I didn’t know what to expect from this frenetic english crime-drama. Apparently based on a Danish film of the same name (which I’ve never seen), the cast of this pull off what is essentially a basic plot. A series of unforunte events hits hard down on cocaine dealer Frank, and he does his best to get out of a bad situation. Although, the worst does finally catch up with him, it’s a wild ride, and I didn’t even fall asleep a little bit in the theatre!

The Hunt
I’d love to praise this film for it’s bold storytelling, and obviously give as much credit as possible to the brilliant Mads Mikkelson. While there may be actions and turns of events that you don’t agree with, the Q&A afterwards offered another opinion on the matter, directly from Mads. In the end this film offers more questions than answers – even when the guilt or innocence of the main character is never doubted.